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Marking the first-ever portfolio merger of two venture builders in the region, CE-Creates, the business incubation platform of Crescent Enterprises, has completed the merger of its portfolio of startups with hatch & boost, an Abu Dhabi-based venture-builder dedicated to ‘hatching’ startup ideas at the intersection of impact and innovation, and boosting them into scalable ventures.
Hatch & boost and CE-Creates aim to jointly advance the growth of impact-driven startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, while introducing unique models of building, and scaling them.
The partnership, operating under the new name hatch & boost Ventures, will see the acceleration and growth of seven portfolio start-ups this year, which span across agritech, sustainable mobility, femtech, foodtech, fintech, among other sectors.
The merged portfolio currently includes, World of Farming, a foddertech solutions provider; ION, a sustainable transportation provider; BreakBread, a supperclub digital platform; Kava and Chai, a specialty coffeehouse; RE:, a feminine care platform; TipiT, a digital token tipping application; and Shamal, a high-tech workwear brand. Driven by sustainable and social impact, hatch & boost Ventures will be working to further establish and scale up to five new start-ups per year.
“A powerful way to address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges across our region is to nurture entrepreneurs who are creating the solutions to these challenges through innovation. This is something Crescent Enterprises has always believed in, and has been pursuing for over two decades through our various platforms. Last year, the UAE ranked first in the region for venture capital investments with a record AED 4.3 billion of investments in startups, and this trend is on an upward trajectory. We are also witnessing a pivot towards businesses that align their financial goals with their environmental and social impact, and our combined venture builder intends to be at the forefront of these positive trends,” said Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises.
In just under two years, hatch and boost created and scaled its own startups through a sector-agnostic model that focuses on solving the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges. With its unique focus on ESG, hatch & boost’s approach serves to fill gaps in early-stage startup development as well as de-risk early-stage investment into impact-driven startups by utilizing a shared pool of resources; ultimately lowering the startup capital cost and optimizing this capital through economies of scale.
“Today, our biggest opportunity lies where impact and profit are viewed as equally imperative to the success of any startup. The merger of our portfolio of startups with CE-Creates is an incredible opportunity for us to drive ESG practices forward in the region, by enhancing our ability to launch and scale sustainable ventures across a number of sectors. This is a major milestone for us, as well as a testament to the validation of the successful model we have built,” said Faris Mesmar, CEO and Managing Partner of hatch & boost. “We share similar investment objectives with CE-Creates and, together, we have what it takes to systemize and structure the startup building process in the region. We look forward to collectively building a competitive edge for our startups in order to solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges.”
Similarly, since its inception in 2018, CE-Creates has been committed to developing numerous early-stage concepts that address complex niche problems within local communities, targeting scale, profitability, and measurable impact. The platform takes every venture through each phase of development, from early concept development to strategic growth and expansion. It focuses on establishing foundations for resilient growth and catalyzing product innovation and scale.
"We are delighted to join hands with hatch & boost to strengthen our combined dedication to scale impact-driven startups across the region. The company's unwavering commitment to transforming businesses underpinned by sustainable practices closely aligns with our values. By joining forces, we will empower exceptional local entrepreneurs and home-grown innovation to build strong, more impactful businesses to thrive in future economies. We look forward to working with hatch & boost to transform the next wave of highly profitable businesses," remarked Samer Choucair, Director of CE-Creates.
The newly joint venture-builders have long operated with a commitment to embedding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals throughout their processes. Also, in line with the UAE’s ambitions to become a global hub of sustainable economic development, Crescent Enterprises partners with innovative and purpose-driven entrepreneurs, creating the infrastructure and environment for new businesses to thrive, which in turn increases the economic competitiveness of the region. The announcement of the merger with hatch & boost, for the formation of hatch & boost Ventures, is a further step towards achieving this vision.
Headquartered in the UAE, hatch & boost Ventures has plans for further expansion across the region in the coming years, namely in markets such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Egypt.
